Aponogeton ranunculiflorus

Aponogeton ranunculiflorus, the Sehlabathebe water lily, is a tiny and endangered species[3] of aquatic plant, that belongs to the pondweed family Aponogetonaceae. It is protected in the Sehlabathebe National Park in the mountains of Lesotho, where it is very localized,[3] and nearby in the uKhahlamba / Drakensberg Park of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.[1] Outside these areas it is seriously threatened. It is found in sandstone rock pools, up to 7 metres deep, and in permanently wet tarns or sensitive high altitude mires,[1] at altitudes between about 2,600 and 3,200 metres. Its spiralled stems allow the flowers to remain at surface level.[3] Threats to the species include overgrazing and trampling by cattle, overburning, erosion and subsistence farming.[1] Their small (1 cm) corms can survive the drying out of the pools, or being frozen into the muddy bottoms.[4]

Sehlabathebe water lily
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Aponogetonaceae
Genus: Aponogeton
Species:
A. ranunculiflorus
Binomial name
Aponogeton ranunculiflorus
Jacot Guill. & Marais, 1972[2]

References
  1. L. Agenbag & C.R. Scott-Shaw (2010). "Aponogeton ranunculiflorus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T185336A8391050. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T185336A8391050.en. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  2. Jacot Guillarmod, A.; Marais, W. (1972). "A new species of Aponogeton (Aponogetonaceae)". Kew Bulletin. 27 (3): 563–65. doi:10.2307/4114366. JSTOR 4114366.
  3. Wickison, Sue. "Aponogeton ranunculiflorus". suewickison.com. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  4. Jacot Guillarmod, A. (1978). "Notes on distribution and biology of Aponogeton ranunculiflorus". Kew Bulletin. 32 (4): 781–83. doi:10.2307/4109774. JSTOR 4109774.


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